Tunable cell membrane mimetic surfaces prepared with a novel phospholipid polymer

A novel method to fabricate and tune cell membrane mimetic surfaces was developed based on the use of an amphiphilic random copolymer bearing phosphorylcholine (PC), stearyl and crosslinkable trimethoxysilylpropyl groups synthesized by free radical copolymerization. The polymer was coated on glass coverslips by dip-coating. The coated films were treated in water allowing reorganization of the surface groups to mimic the structure of cell outer membranes. This structure was fixed by crosslinking of the trimethoxysilylpropyl groups linked to the copolymer chains, as ascertained by dynamic contact angle (DCA) and attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) measurements. Our results indicate that the surface structure can be tuned to a great extent to obtain a stable outer membrane mimetic surface/interface.